Sandin v. Conner
United States Supreme Court
515 U.S. 472, 115 S.Ct. 2293, 132 L.Ed.2d 418 (1995)
- Written by Eric Cervone, LLM
Facts
Conner (plaintiff) was serving a prison sentence and was charged with misconduct after reacting angrily to a strip search. Conner participated in a disciplinary hearing in which he was not allowed to present witnesses. The hearing committee sentenced Conner to 30 days of disciplinary segregation. Conner filed suit in federal court claiming that the hearing procedure deprived him of due process. After Conner had filed suit, and months after Conner had served his disciplinary sentence, the deputy prison administrator found the misconduct charge unjustified and expunged it from Conner’s record. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the prison administration. The court of appeals considered prison regulations that required charges of misconduct to be supported by substantial evidence and viewed those regulations as creating a state-sponsored liberty interest. The court of appeals reversed the district court decision. The prison administration petitioned the United States Supreme Court for review.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Rehnquist, C.J.)
Dissent (Ginsburg, J.)
Dissent (Breyer, J.)
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